About “One Mic”

‘One Mic’ was a situation that was during a time that [Nas] was in the beef with Jay-Z. I knew that that beef wasn’t gonna last forever. My whole thing was, ‘Okay, so what do we do after this whole beef is over? How do we come out of this?’

It was my first meeting with Nas. We just sat and talked about that situation where you feel you’re gettin' ready to fight or gonna have to get ready to defend somethin', what’s that record that would calm you down? We both said it was [Phil Collins'] ‘In The Air Tonight.’ He mentioned to me that he wanted to make a record where the chorus was quiet [laughing] and that verses would rise. So me taking those two ideas, I just came up with something that was calm and built up a little bit in the verses and then go back calm for his chorus."

The lyrics discuss Nas’s desire for a simple life (“Only if I had one gun, one girl, and one crib/One God to show me how to do things his son did”) and obstacles that prevent it (“One nigga front, my face on the front page”). It has been noted for its political consciousness and dystopian themes. One may also notice a Christian overtone, as well.